Steve Bruce has spent the summer reinforcing Sunderland's spine and his team's new backbone proved instrumental in first resisting and then undoing Blackburn.

While Kenwyne Jones, an aerially dominant, almost Drogba-esque, centre-forward secured three points courtesy of a fine shot and header, the impressive Lee Cattermole and Lorik Cana gradually got to grips with central midfield. Admittedly, that spine sporadically looked less than steely at centre-half where Anton Ferdinand and Danny Collins experienced the odd wobble but its overall resilience ensured Sunderland won a game they would probably have lost last season.

Not that it was a cakewalk. Awkwardness personified, Blackburn had two goals disallowed and with more incisive finishing from Nikola Kalinic, Chris Samba and Benni McCarthy would surely have at least drawn the game.

"We were much better in the second half but, until then, we couldn't cope with Blackburn physically," admitted who, at one stage, had what could politely be described as a frank exchange of views with Collins, his captain and admitted his interval homily was "a bit salty."Bruce.

Morten Gamst Pedersen's once beguiling game may have declined to the point where he is now dubbed "the ghost", but the Norwegian left-winger still takes a very decent set piece. His corner duly prompted Gaël Givet's opening goal, Cattermole's attempted far-post clearance falling kindly to the left-back just outside the area. A swipe of Givet's left boot later and the ball was whizzing towards the bottom corner.

With Jason Roberts having earlier seen a goal disallowed – "a bizarre decision", according to Sam Allardyce – for a foul on the half-fit Marton Fulop, Blackburn were all too easily bullying Sunderland into submission, refusing to allow Bruce's side to settle into any sort of passing groove and threatening to score from dead ball after dead ball.

After that Cattermole increasingly came to the fore and his chipped left-wing cross prefaced Jones outleaping all comers to head his second goal. "Kenwyne's quality has won it for us and Lee epitomises everything I like in a footballer," said Bruce.

Steven N'Zonzi thought he had headed Rovers level but once again – Alan Wiley chalked it off, for an offside against Samba. "I could see why that time," conceded Allardyce, who left the unsettled Stephen Warnock behind in Lancashire. "But this really is the cruellest league."